In my introductory post, I talked about three of the projects I'm involved with here at Curl. The first one I want to share some information about is the new Developer Center. What you're currently visiting is the Curl Developer Center v1. We're currently designing and building version 2 of this resource center and it will be the place for you to interact with members of the Curl team and the community of developers using the language in a variety of ways. Of course there's this blog where you're welcome to engage with any or all of us who contribute to this running stream of commentary, analysis, and news. We'll be touching on a variety of topics here and, in my experience with this relatively new medium, blogs work best when they provide an open platform for discussion.
The Developer Center will also be home to our Discussion Forums which provide an environment where you can take the lead in creating conversations about the topics you're most interested in. You can expect members of the Curl team to join you in these conversations as well as other community members.
To assist you in better understanding how Curl works, the Developer Center will provide both a Quick Start Center and a more immersive and in-depth Training Center with tutorials, code samples, application modules, and other resources to get your Curl projects up and running quickly. We'll also be establishing a series of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) that will allow you focus on specific areas of Curl application development and practice. Some of the topics we're considering for the initial SIGs include:
- Open Source
- Data visualization and data analysis
- Smart Forms
- Widgets/Gadgets/Curlets
- Web-enabling existing client-server applications
- Curl product roadmap
According to the current design and architectural model we're working from, each SIG will contain some or all of the following:
- Developer's Blog. Each SIG will have blog dedicated to its area of focus. This blog will initially be posted to by Curl staff and with links to content we're tagging using social bookmarking tools like del.icio.us. As the SIGs get up and running, members of the community will be invited to contribute to these blogs as well.
- Discussion Forum. We'll establish a threaded discussion space for members of each SIG to talk about topics of interest in their focus area.
- Developer Sandbox. We're investigating ways to create a Curl-powered environment that will allow you to add and edit code and then run prototype applications in real time. This will, at minimum, require that the Run Time Engine (RTE) be installed on your local machine.
- Code Samples. We'll create a repository of code samples that you can download and use as a starting point point for building application modules or full-blown applications. As with the other components of the SIGs, your contributions will be eagerly accepted.
- Developer Wiki. A wiki will be set up in each SIG to allow members to share tips and tricks, best practices, and other information in a structured presentation.
We are in the final design and architectural planning stages right now and welcome any ideas, suggestions, or other input you might have to help shape the new Developer Center into a tool that best meets your needs. Post a comment here or feel free to e-mail me directly at mochant at curl dot com. Our goal is to have the new Developer Center v2 up and running in late September.